I’ve watched NASCAR for so long, I can remember a time when everyone hated the track at Riverside, Daytona’s infield was just a bunch of grass and Richard Petty wasn’t even close to 200 wins. So, take my words seriously when I say that NASCAR’s bad boy, Kyle Busch, gets the rawest of deals from so-called fans. And I’ll prove it.

Let’s get to the root of the issue right off the bat. NASCAR has slowly devolved into a sport where every driver is expected to be completely aniseptic in response to on track incidents and friction in the garage. Sponsors and the powers that be want to hear “Gosh, gee wilikers, my Clorox/Huggies/Nestle/OldPeopleDate.Com Chevy ran great today. It’s a shame that nice young man bumped me in the rear quarter in the middle of turn four and almost killed me. But it’s ok, ’cause it’s NASCAR, and we’re all one big happy fake family.”

Anyone that is familiar with Kyle Busch expects the possibility of name calling and snark bombs on live television after an incident. Lest we forget, Busch once said fellow driver Ryan Newman was an “idiot” and a “big ogre” after a race. Unwarranted? Maybe. But to ask Busch to respond in any other way is disingenuine, nor should we as fans or even NASCAR itself ask him to retort differently. I’ll make my case starting with the vaunted Earnhardt family.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was NASCAR’s class pet and could get away with murder from the sport’s top men, which he more than proved on several tracks. Yes, I’m referring to that sportsman like move when big Dale piled Terry Labonte’s car into scrap metal at Bristol many years ago while Labonte was still in it. Yet, that was just laughed off as “Aw shucks. That’s just good ‘ol Dale bein’ good ‘ol Dale.” Yet, in today’s social media area of the sport, Twitter explodes every time Busch’s #18 Toyota merely brushes anyone other than Juan Pablo Montoya. No free passes for Kyle Busch. I mean, who is he to think he can just pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. without even yielding to Earnhardt’s NASCAR forced popularity. How. Dare. He. Besides, NASCAR set the precedent by letting Earnhardt Sr. bash his way to the front, so if anyone is to blame for contact, it’s the management section of the sport itself.

The underlying truth is that Busch is a driver that missed his time about 35 years too late. Most of the newbie sport fans despise Kyle Busch for the lack of understanding the roots of the sport itself. Back in the seventies, NASCAR was different. Busch would have fit perfectly when even the Earnhardt almighty was low man to hard-nosed drivers such as Cale Yarborough. Why do I bring up that specific name? Because this is how men like Yarborough handled business back in the day.

Kind of silly to expect Kyle Busch to be a gentleman when the sport he’s currently in used to have guys beating the crap out of each other with their helmets. But again, men like Donnie Allison and Tiny Lund weren’t the highlighted hair drivers of today. Taking out one of those drivers on the track usually resulted in a full-out pit crew war. In Lund’s case, the 6’7″ 275 giant once picked up the man pictured above, Cale Yarborough, along with his entire mattress and promptly threw the driver into a motel swimming pool after Yarborough threw a bucket of cold water on Lund. Yet again, Kyle Busch is an uncultured jerk because he didn’t give Danica Patrick six lanes of space to openly pass him. What a cur.

There is now a clear division of fans of the sport, and as in many cases of the world, it’s old school v. new school. New school being a bunch of silly little wuss bags whining every time someone with more talent tries to pass them. It’s sponsors treating the cars they’ve stamped their names on as 200 mph billboards, fearing actual contact from another vehicle may put a wrinkle in their logo. Many older fans I’m familiar with are very accepting and respectful of the Kyle Busch style. He wants to win, nothing personal. In fact, if NASCAR had a field of forty more drivers like Kyle Busch, people may actually shell out money to come back to the sport they once loved. Or, I guess they can keep filling a third of the stands as in the case of the Bristol 2013 Spring race.

Brass tacks? NASCAR needs Kyle Busch. It’s a simple as that. Or maybe we could just have Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick drive around together while “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” plays on the P.A. system. Sure, I’ll shell out $75 bucks to see that. Like Hell, I will.

Will my article change how fans feel? Of course not. On Sunday, it will be business as usual for the low info jerks on Twitter, bashing Kyle Busch because they’ve never seen a race prior to 2005, never knew there was a track at North Wilksboro and certainly don’t remember when loveable Darrell Waltrip was know as “Jaws” and hated by old people, pets and children equally.

All it took for me to know the makeup of a man like Kyle Busch was one visit to http://www.kylebuschfoundation.org/ that helps children every day. Me? I think I’ll save my “boos” for the guy constantly at the top of the points race who’s crew chief gets caught every other week for cheating.

16 responses to “Why NASCAR Needs Kyle Busch”

This is a great bit piece full of your opinion. I think however you have failed to point out the fact that if Shrub was racing 35 years ago, they would have pummeled his entitled little smart ass into the ground repeatedly and he would have vanished from the circuit after a very very short stint.

The Difference between Dale Sr. and Shrub is night and day in regards to respect earned and given. Kyle gives none and wants it all, and that would not have worked 35 years ago any better then it is working for him now.

Correction. Great article full of FACTS and opinions. And you apparently aren’t very familiar with Earnhardt Sr. if you thought he was respectful. I can’t blame you though, as its all part of NASCAR’s brain washing program about just what a wonderful guy Sr. was. Thanks for reading.

I don’t often respond to a comment twice, but in the 3+ hours when you originally left this comment, Kyle Busch won again. And he did it cleanly and respectfully. Way to be on the wrong side of things, buddy. Timing is everything in this world.

No, he hasn’t ever actually won in The Chase. And he’s a handful of points from winning the championship without one this year, which is why The Chase format is a total joke. Be that as it may, he’s still one of the most interesting drivers in the sport.

Excuse me ass wipe, but I’m sure I’m more knowledgable about NASCAR than your “opinions.” Alzhiemers must have kicked in early for you. Tell me one time, ONE time Kyle defended himself in a fight or on the track. Richard Childress? Nope, got his ass beat. Kevin Harvick? Nope, drive his car into the wall. Hey, what about Ron Hornaday? Dang, got himself in trouble and lost half his sponsors. Maybe Ryan Newman? Hell, he couldn’t even argue without sounding like a 10 year old. Its your opinion on Kyle, but he wouldve been eaten alive by the likes of Earnhardt and Waltrip and would be a nobody by now. Kyle demands respect without following up with a good performance, much less a great performance. Where was he in the chase last year? Oh yeah, he failed to even be a contender. How many cars did he tear up with Hendrick? Better yet, how many has he torn up with Gibbs? I’ve counted 9 so far on the year, and as much as I dislike Johnson, at least Johnson can drive a car and not tear it apart. You talk about old school NASCAR, which was about earning respect and not destroying your race car while winning races, yet Kyle is the exact opposite of what your defending. Next time you decide to call out the fans, get your facts and history straight first.

Oh, calling out jack holes like yourself is exactly what I intend to do. And on a more frequent basis, no less. You’re too stupid to even fathom the fact the guy you’re bitching about WON today, and with an car that missed the set up for the track. Here are the FACTS. You’re an idiot. And stop talking like you actually understood what old school drivers were like. What they respected was a guy that could put a car anywhere on a track and make it stick, you ill-informed half-wit. And the next time you decide to call ME out you slack-jawed yokel, try not to point to a guy that’s crew chief is know as one of the biggest cheats in the history of the sport. Alzhiemers, my ass. Dismissed.

So NASCAR needs a guy that picks fights he runs from? How many fights did the silver fox run from? Or Earnhardt? Or any other driver from the 70’s and 80’s you’re bragging about? Kyle Busch is nothing more than a Bodine racer. So he won today, big deal. We all know he has driving talent. Its his personality, much like yours, that is terrible. Should we check on the fights he ran from? Your whole point here was Kyle being 25 years late to the party. Bill Elliott, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, and all the legends you’re trying to compare him to is making your statement more ridiculous than anyone could imagine. Keep talking shit buddy, I’m here all week and not afraid to share any links of why Busch is terrible. Got a problem with me, keep talking like Kyle would. Half wit. Give me a break.

P.S. Check your grammar before trying to comeback at people. Poor grammar and spelling isn’t exactly going to prove much of a point.

Kyle Busch is an ultra entitled, ultra talented whine as pussy. Sit on your porch and yell at kids on you grass. Kyle Busch is a driver, as talented as they come, but he’s not a racer. Racers win when it counts. A racer gets better as the pressure rises. Kyle Busch blames everyone but himself if he loses or destroys a car. I’m a 48 fan from back when he was driving trophy trucks. I prefer racers like Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, and Marcus Ambrose. Guys that are articulate. Go ahead and blast the 48 for “cheating”. That guy can drive and win with anything. Heaven forbid he doesn’t say y’all and shucks, they keep changing the rules and JJ keeps winning. Scoreboard fellas, Scoreboard.

Johnson couldn’t win driving for Roush. Johnson wins because of Hendrick. Hendrick wins over half of the races every season with one tenth of the cars. I guess that is just a coincidence. It really seems to me that Hendrick and not the other guy, whose name starts with an H, is really the president of Nascar.

Oh great, another person that thinks that Kyle Busch is the greatest thing for Nascar. He is an average driver in above average equipment. His personality is boring and his poor attitude is getting old. He doesn’t do much in the cup series. With the exception of that awful 08 season where he, Johnson, and Edwards won the majority of the races, he doesn’t win often. Most of his cup wins lately have been handed to him. The last two Fontana wins were handed to him after he took advantage of the top 2 being stupid. A phantom debris caution gave him the win at Texas and he got lucky on a debris caution at Richmond in 2012. Not to mention his plate wins under caution. Nascar has tried so hard to make this jackass be the next Dale Earnhardt, but he fails miserably. I lost all respect for Kyle after he refused to get back in the car after his crew repaired it. I can’t remember the year, but he was still at Hendrick. I don’t care who you are, if your crew takes the time to fix it, you get in and finish the race. He’s also a coward. If you are going to play Dale Earnhardt, own up to it. He wouldn’t even talk to Truex last year at Atlanta and had his crew chief do it. The crap that he pulled with Hornaday was pathetic too. Busch wasn’t even racing for points in that series and ran him head on in the wall. I remember Harvick getting suspended a cup race for what he did at a truck race at Martinsville. If any other driver pulled half of what Kyle has, they would’ve been suspended longer. Had Busch done that to Hornaday back in 2000, Hornaday likely would’ve been dead. But that’s ok since it’s Rowdy being Rowdy right? Busch has the nerve to act tough when he’s standing in his hauler, but he wasn’t man enough to stand up to Hornaday or Harvick. He isn’t a bad boy and he sure as hell isn’t intimidating. Dude got his ass handed to him by an old man. I’m tired of hearing how exciting and talented he is. There are easily ten active drivers better than him. My point on him is that he has been chosen by Nascar to be the next intimidator, but he can’t do it. If you are going to drive dirty, you have to prepare for the consequences. He doesn’t man up and accept the blame for anything. He’s overrated and couldn’t even win in his own Nationwide car, something that his brother was able to do. Yet Kyle is supposed to be better than Kurt, right? He also chokes during the chase because he isn’t mentally strong enough to win a championship. Gibbs has invested so much into this dumbass, yet the only thing I see him dominating is Xfinity and Truck races.

God, you Earnhardt fans never give it a rest. Actually Kyle’s actual driving ability is more on par with Tim Richmond’s. Both men far more talented wheel men than your Gawd Bless ol number 3. Earnhardt couldn’t make a clean pass without taking a coat of paint off, so spare me. We get it. You’re a Hendrick fan.
Go rattle somewhere else.

God, you Earnhardt fans never give it a rest. Actually Kyle’s actual driving ability is more on par with Tim Richmond’s. Both men far more talented wheel men than your Gawd Bless ol number 3. Earnhardt couldn’t make a clean pass without takin g a coat of paint off, so spare me. We get it. You’re a Hendrick fan.
Go rattle somewhere else.